Maybe
by Melskim
Summary: 09/22/09 Summaries is not my thing -- set during the last part of Coming Home, slightly change though. X/A


**Maybe** by Melskim

09/22/09

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. This is just for entertainment.

A/N:I began writing this one for the ASG installment of August. I never finished it until now. Is a X/A story set during Coming Home (season 6) a bit change though.

The sun had set long hours ago, the night had began to take shape in dark patterns, there was no moon, only stars shining brightly. The wind let us heard its sounds in the afar. Inside the hut, there was no sounds, only breathing and a man groaning in fatal delirium. Xena and I were with him. Eve was sleeping in the other room. I don't blame her, after all Ares only brought painful memories for her, maybe for me was the same. But the look in Xena's eyes was different. Guilt, sadness. That's what I saw in her eyes, but there was something else, something I didn't dare to think about. She was sat in the edge of his bed, in her hands a cloth and water, cleaning his wounds even before her owns. That afternoon, I saw something in her, something new or something I've never wanted to see before. I stood from the table and walked to stand next her.

"Xena" I called. She looked up at me, her hands red with his blood. The plan had been to fight him and let him drown her in the ice pond. Then Eve and I would take care of her and get her warm; the furies will be slated the moment they left Ares mind. But something had gone utterly wrong. They furies not only wanted revenge on him, but in her. When they started fighting, Alecto must had gotten in Xena's mind too. Eve and I were in the mountain peck, but the harsh words flown to our ears as if we had been down there. When we realized that Xena was taking the bashing too far, we also realized something was wrong. We started the path down, but we were too late.

"Does this give you pleasure? Do you like this?!" Ares cleaned the blood in his lips with a hand. "You're like a snake! You're li-- you're like like one of those three-headed-- dogs! I don't know what-- ! You're mean! If I could open you up-- I would show people the _mean_ inside you!" He rushed to her and aimed a punch to her guts. "And I will! I will! Yeah! Yeah!" She double in pain and looked at him.

"Yeah! You-- are makin' this-- wa-a-a-ay too easy!" He shouted, kicking her on the side.

"I'll try harder." She replayed bitterly, kicking him harder in the side as well, flipping over him and punching his face in landing.

"Oh, would you?" He punched her face as well, taking her off balance.

"You might be mortal, Ares-- but you will _never_ be a man." She shouted in anger breathing hard.

"Kill her. Kill her." The voices of the furies started to rang louder in his ears.

"Never a man... yeah I'm a god!" He retorted hitting her in the chest with a powerful kick.

"WERE! You are nothing more than a pathetic fool." She said recovering and punching him in the face again.

"A pathetic fool, who fall _ for _ you... my biggest mistake... I wanted her to be my daughter you know, and you had to twist everything – you had to fake you death for 25 years – and I slept with her!" He sounded regretful and very angry. Maybe, just maybe this whole Livia thing had reached the god of war as well. While I heard him say it, I turned to Eve, she was looking down. I took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance... of something.

"Kill him, kill him" The voices could not be heard, but they were there.

"Poor god of war... you always were interfering in my business, you had to take us to that cave, why you just didn't let us rotten there?" We could see the fight clearly then, while we climb down the mountain.

"Because... I love you!" He roared. And Xena flown backwards to the ground from his wrath.

"Love me? Love me? You don't know the first thing about love." she said getting up. "You were the parasite of Olympus, you still are, no more than a convenient, manipulative bastard _ a lackey for Dahak _ a coward!"

"_Kill her, kill her"_

"You are like a illness for me, I broke every rule for you... and you... you not even acknowledged it, I was the god of war! And the thought of me sicken you!" He kicked her again. "You are not better that me Xena, you are just a spoiled brat with sharp toys, always had been – remember..." She kicked him forcefully, he was giving her more of a fight than I had expected. "...that day, you gave your son to Kaleipus – the day we met." He punched her guts again, she was on the ground; with him over her.

"You were even relieved when that centaur took the boy. So righteous Xena and she didn't even give a damn about her son, not even when I told you to destroy Dahak temple – and what you did? – nothing - and your son is dead!" That was his last saying. Xena rolled them over and got up taking his weight with her, kicking him again with such a force that I was surprised.

"_Kill him, kill him"_

I think that did it.

Xena pushed him and he pushed her back it was not only the fight of two warriors, it seem more the accusations of an old twisted marriage for the anger and deceptions long forgotten that had resurged. Then she flipped above him and kick him in the back sending him flying.

The sound of his skull against the rock, brought her back I think, next thing I know was hearing an animal roar and watched as Xena knelt murmuring his name in dismay, her eyes like steel, taking Ares in her lap, trying to stop the blood running from the gash in his head.

"Xena" I repeated. She had heard me before but for some strange reason I think it didn't register. Her face was blank, her eyes swallow and red. She hasn't shed a tear. "Let me take it from here, you need to check your wounds also," and then added with a comforting smile. "Don't worried Ares has always been a survivor." She looked at me, I think she smiled a little, to easy my worries; but it was comforting enough. She stood and left the room.

In the bed, Ares was restless, it was impressive the change. The mighty god of war, laying in a bed helpless and hours before, near death. The same Ares that had torment us for years, yet the same Ares that had given up his godhood and let her killed his family out of love.

It was disturbing seeing him like this. I took the cloth and continue cooling his forehead, neck and arms and chest; the fever was raising fast. Even in this condition, I couldn't deny how beautiful he was. I remember talking/teasing Xena about it once. The night after the siege on Amphipolis. She had whispered she had felt something and no wonder they had always had this attraction between them, this bond. He could be so charming and for my misfortune, I knew it first handed. Though I also knew it was everything in behalf of having Xena, not just back but being in her good grace. Can someone believe it – a god needing to be in the good grace of a mortal -- but like always Xena was special. The day Aphrodite took us off Olympus I though she was going to ask him to join us. She didn't, but I think she wanted to, at least a part of her. But then again, there was Eve – former Livia of Rome and lover of the god of war, not Ares.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Xena… I didn't… I didn't know" He kept babbling things like that. I tried to calm him down, but it was useless, he kept trashing and pushing me off the bed. I stood up on him and took his arms, gods they were so hard, I had to bit my lip.

Xena walked into the room, in her shift, no leather, no armor, just her chakram in hand. She placed it in the bedside table and I felt relieve washing over me. She was there again. He did deserve a second chance, I thought looking at him. "The fever is getting worst." I said, trying to break the silence. She looked at me and nodded. She took the cloth from my hand and drove it in the bowl with cold water I had placed earlier beside the bed.

She didn't say a thing, I was worried. If Ares died, she would blame herself even if it was the furies doing. I kept looking at her. She noticed.

"Go to sleep Gabrielle. We can't do much more for him." Her voice sounded ghost like, no emotion registered, but I knew better, she was terribly worried. I sighed and turned, but before I walked to the cot in the other corner of the room, she clasped my hand and squeezed it. I felt relieve washing over me again. Everything will be fine.

Sometime during that night, the only light was a candle next to the bed where Ares was. I turned in my sleep to see them. I wanted to see them. Xena was so different when she was with that man. And the few times I had seen them together not only anger could be seen, sometimes her tone was playful and companion, I was certain the knew each other well. The intimacy of they talking and movements when they were near each other was pure evidence. Now I knew that they had met the night Xena gave up Solan, he had said it and she hadn't denied it.

Xena had him cradled in her chest, a hand in his forehead and the other interwoven with his. She was whispering something, talking silently next to his ear, her hair covering her face. I tried to listen and I managed to get two phrases together, she was repeating. "You won't leave me" and "We will get through this one, together. That's want you wanted, right Ares? Us – Together" His condition was severe the healer in the amazon camp had said it herself. He had to wake up, before it was too late and his mind was lost. The hit with the rock had opened his skull and now he was between consciousness and the other world.

She bent and captured his lips. A tender kiss. I saw a smile in his face even as his nightmares were torturing him, he smiled. He moved awake, by her. Open his eyes. "I'm sorry" I heard him said. She had tears in her eyes again. A relieved smile in her lips. I knew then… she loved him.

"Shhh…" She said bringing his hand to her lips.

"I love you." He whispered, his voice hoarse. She looked at him.

"I know." She replayed in such a way, with such warmth. She moved to grip the waterskin at her feet. "Here, drink." She settled to see his face. I had seen it already lighten up and anew even with the bruises and cuts. He brought his hand to the wound in his head. "I don't know how you mortals get to one day to another. I have this pounding feeling in my head and my legs hurt and my lips." She was playing with his fingers, the other hand caressing his jaw line almost amused. I felt like an intruder, but I needed to see them. It was overwhelming how tender, gentle they could be to each other; God and Princess of War as once I had written in my scrolls.

Eve was descending the hilltop were Ares was, they had talked, she came to me with a smiled and I knew everything will be fine. Not perfect, nothing was perfect with those two, but it was a chance in a billion. Xena was with Argo, we were ready to leave the amazons again. I saw Ares silhouette sat in the hilltop and Xena walking to him seconds later. I turned and hugged Eve, she whispered in my ear and I nodded walking to say my goodbyes to Marga and the tribe.

"You have got a _wicked_ right jab." He said playfully in pain.

"Sorry about that." Xena chuckled.

"It's not the end of the world." She heard him sighed. Then he looked up at her with a smiled. "Who knows? Maybe as a mortal I can experience something I never could as a god."

"Like what?" She encouraged.

"Like you."He smiled again, so beautiful, so full of hopes, so new. Not the god of war, but Ares. Xena had taken his hand in hers after checking his head and bruised face again. He was playing with her fingers.

"You never give up, do you?" She graced him with a smile of her own, shaking her head somehow amused, tender and happy. She leaned and gave him a lighten, tender kiss.

"Ow. I guess I'm finally gettin' to ya." He stated with a grin.

"You always got to me-- but you were bad for me, Ares. You still are." She retorted lovingly and somehow sad.

"Yeah... I know, you are bad for me too..." He laughed bringing his free hand up, tapping his wound; his laughter was contagious and she was laughing with him. He leaned and stole from her another kiss, this one lingered a couple of seconds more. And when they parted, she had a smiled on her and his eyes were sparking mischievously. "You know," he lift his free hand to her cheek. "...We could work the whole bad thing out." She shook her head and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

After holding his gaze for a few moments more, Xena stood straight and turned to leave. Ares was already up, expectantly. She sighed, not turning to look at him and then something happened, she smiled and said aloud, jerking her head slightly his way, "Gabrielle and Eve are waiting for _us_."

Maybe this was their chance, maybe they would never have it any other way.


End file.
